Cloth take-up apparatus



Jan. 5, 1965 Filed Aug. 23, 1963 C. O'NEAL WALKER ETAL CLOTH TAKE-UP APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR &RISI/50%# Mua!? Fq maa/va G' 55530165 m ATTORNEYJ United States 'Patcnt O 3,164,332 CLOTH T-UP APPARATUS Christie O'Neal Walker and Raymond G. Sessome, Stonewall, Miss., assignors to Bnrlington Industries, Inc., Greenshoro, N.C., a Corporation of Delaware Filed Aug. 23, 1963, Ser. No. .304,144 1 claim. (Ci. 242-66) T-he present invention relates to an apparatus for winding textile fabric or cloth in open Widths onto a core or spindle, and more particularly to an apparatus adapted to receive textile fabric in open widths from a loom or the like, the apparatus winding the textile fabric onto a core at a speed faster than the speed at which the teXtile fabric is delivered to the same.

Heretofore, it has been the practice in textile mills to wind the cloth woven on a loom just as the cloth is discharged from the loom. The loom was usually provided with brackets for supporting a core and as the fabric Was discharged from the loom it was wrapped directly onto the core and, when the core was filled, the loom was stopped while the roll of fabric was removed therefrom and a new core placed on the brackets. Because of the close proximity of the core to the loom, and because of the limited space in the weaving room, it was a normal practice to wind about sixty yards of textile material or cloth on the core and then remove the roll of cloth to another area in the mill. By having to stop the loom each time the full roll of cloth was removed from the loom, production of the particular loom was decreased.

Also, another disadvantage to the prior practice of winding the textle fabric directly onto a core in the loom was in the loss of a considerable amount of yardage of cloth from a particular loom over a period of time. When delivering rolls of cloth to the manufacturer of end products, it was customary in the trade to allow at least a quarter of a yard tolerance in the length of yardage on the roll as customers maintained strict specifications as to length. In other words, in order to avoid rejection of a roll by a customer, sufiicient extra yardage was always allowed for the length of the roll to compensate for any shrinkage of the cloth from additional textile finishing processes. By making the roll slightly longer than what is actually purchased by the Customer, the mill could be assured that there would be no rejected delivery of rolls because of insufficient length according to a purchase order. Over a period of time, however, the tolerances allowed resulted in a considerable loss of material.

Another disadvantage in the prior handling of textile fabric being made on a loom was that, by immediately rolling the fabric onto a core at the site of the loom, there was not sufiicient time to carefully inspect the fabric for manufacturing defects. Consequently, inspection of the fabric was made at another section of the mill after the roll of cloth had been transferred from the loom, and when defects Were discovered, it meant that all the fabric manufactured subsequently had to be carefully inspectcd to insure that there were no flaws running through all of the fabric. If the flaw was in the operation of the loom, considerable length of fabric had to` be rejected and remedial action taken to correct the flaw.

An important object of the present invention is to provide an improved apparatus for receiving textile fabric or cloth in open widths as it is being manufactured, the apparatus providing for a more eicient handling of the cloth.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for taking up the cloth fed from textile equipment and rolling the same on a core or spindle in open widths, the apparatus being arranged with respect "ice to the source in such a manner as to Permit complete inspection of the fabric as it is received thereby permitting the operator of the loom to take prompt remedial action when manufacturing defects are detected.

Ancillary to the preceding object, it is a further object of the present invention to provide an apparatus which reduces materially the amount of loss from a loom when the loom or its associated equipment is Operating in a manner to cause the manufacturing defects.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for winding textile fabric or cloth in open widths upon a core or the like, the apparatus permitting the rolls of fabric to accumulate more yardage than heretofore handled in a mill. By having the apparatus positioned at -a remote place from the loom, the rolls of cloth made from the loom can be 500 or more yards per roll as Compared with the conventional rolls of 60 yards. This enables more efiicient handling of the textile fabric in the subsequent fabric treating Operations as well as cutting down on the losses fron Scraps of fabric allowed as tolerances on each individual roll of 60 yards.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a cloth take-up appara-tus which operates to intermittently wind cloth on a core or the like from a source of constant delivery, thereby enabling easy inspection of the cloth prior to its winding on the roll.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for winding rolls of cloth on a core or the like, the apparatus being provided with means which insures the proper tracking of the cloth as it is being wound into large rolls.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for winding large rolls of cloth as it is delivered from teXtile equipment, the apparatus being economical to manufacture and operate and having a minimum of parts requiring a minimum of maintenance.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will appear more fully in the following specification, claim and drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a schematic View of the apparatus of the present invention in association with a loom;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged end elevaton of .the textile fabric or cloth take-up apparatus of the present invention looking from the lefit of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a side elevational View of the apparatus of FIGURE 2 with parts being broken away for the purpose of clarity;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary plan view of the driven rolls for winding the fabric onto the core;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged fragmentary View illustrating the take-up roll and the means for maintaining the same horizontal at all times, the view being taken substantially on the line S'- of FIGURE 3; and

FIGURE 6 is a schematic view of the wiring diagram for Operating the apparatus of the present invention.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like character and reference numerals represent like or similar parts and in particular to FIGURE 1, there is disclosed schematically the apparatus of the present invention in use in a. textile mill. The fabric take-up apparatus for winding textile fabric in open width on a core is generally designated by the numeral 10 and is positioned in the mill on a floor 12 below a floor 14 wheren the textile equipment for supplying the fabric to the apparatus is located. In more detail, a loom 16 for weaving cloth is shown diagrammatically and is provided with the usual warp beam 18 from which the warp 20 is supplied formaking the cloth C; The filling shuttles are not disclosed and, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the loom may be either the type having filling shuttles or may be a shuttleless-type loom. The woven cloth C is fed from 3 the loom over a guide roll 22 and dropped down through a narrow slot'24 provided in the floor 14 to the take-up apparatus therebelow.

The cloth is fed to the apparatus lil where it is wound into a roll R 'o a'c'o'nvertional core 26 (FIGURES 2 and 3). The loom 16, whieh is of the conventional type, usually weaves about 'four inches of fabric or cloth per minute. In some instances, it may weave slightly more or slig'htly less depending or the intricacy of the weave. In anyevent, the fabric or cloth woven is continuously discharged from the loom, and, as mentioned at the outset of the application, if 'such fabric or cloth were immediately rolled up onto a core at the loom site, there would be little or no opportunity for careful and detailed i'nspection at the loom' nor could the size of the roll of cloth be very great because 'of the limited space. By having the cloth C drop through the slot 24 to an area below the loom 16, an inspector may stand in such area and easily inspect in detail the slowly moving cloth.

It is desirable that the cloth be under a substantially constant tension as it is being woven and also it is highly desirable that, should the loom 16 be stopped, the apparatus 10 should also be able to automatically stop so that the apparatus 10 can work in a continuous line with the loom without much attenti'on. As will be discussed in moredetail later in the specification, the ap'paratus i@ is so constructed a`s to provide a more eicient mill operation in that the apparatus is automatically Operating when the loom -is Operating and will automatically come to a stop at a desired time should the loom be stopped. By having Dhe take-up apparatus so controlled that it op'erates at a slightly faster speed for rolling up the cloth on the roll R, it will now be appreciated that such advantages as heretofore mentio'ned may be efficiently and easily accomplished.

Referri'ng now specifically to FIGURES 2, 3 and 4, it will be noted that the take-up apparatus 10 of the present invention includes 'a frame structure 28 comprising two horizontally spaced vertical side frames 30 and 3-2 fixedly held together 'by tie rods 34 and 36. The tie rods 34 and 36 are fixedly attached by bolts 38 to vertical stittening members 40 'of the side frames 30 and -32 respectively.

A pair of horizontally sp'aced vertically-extending standards' 42 and 44 are fiXedly Secured to the 'respective side frames 50 and 32 at one end of the appara'tus by bolts 46. The upper ends of the standards 42 and 44 are held together by a tie rod 48 (FIGURE 2.) so as to give the standards rigidity. A hearing pillow block 50 is provided on the upper end of standard 42, whereas the bearing pillow block 52 is provided on the upper end of the standard 44 in alignment with the block 30. The bearingp-illow blocks 50 and 52 are adapted to receive the shaft ends 54 and 56 respectively of a cloth guide roll 58 which is freely rotatable.

As clearly shown in FIGURES 2 and 3, *the spaced standards 42 and 44 are each provided with a vertically extending guide track 60 and `62 respectively, the guide tracks 60 and 62 each being defined by a pair of spaced members 64 an d 66. The guide tracks 60 and 62 which are oppositely disposed to each other, are adapted to receive the ends of a take-up roll 68 movable vertically therein between upper and lower predetermined limits. As shown in FIGURE 5, the ends of the roll 68 can freely slide up and down within the guide track 60.

A pinion 70 is provided adjacent each end of the takeup roll 68. Mountedon the guide tracks 60 and 62 are vertically extending racks 72 which mesh with the pnions 70 on the ends of the take-up roll 63. By having the ends of the take-up roll 63 confined in the vertical guide tracks 60 and 62 and by having the pinions '70 on each end of the roll 68 meshing with the racks 72 the roll '68 will have its axis remain in a horizontal position regardless of its Upward or downward movement in the tracks 60 and 62. A ,pu'll on one side by the cloth cannot cause the take-up i roll 68 to get out of alignment and, thus, there can be no tracking of the cloth passing about the take-up roll 68. Each of the side frames 30 and 32 is provided with an upper hor-izontally-extending member 74. Each of the members 74 supports a pillow box 76 closely adjacent the vertical standards 42 and 44 respectively. The oppositelydisposed pillow blocks 76 rotatably support the ends of a second freely rotatable cloth guide roll 78.

Also carried on the horizontal members 72 of each of the side frames 30 and 32 respectively are hearing illow blocks 80 and 82 respectively for supporting the ends of a pair of closely spaced driven rolls 84 and 86. It Will now be understood, the take-up roll 68, guide rolls 58 and 78 and driven rolls i and 86 all have parallel horizontally extending axes. The axis of the take-off roll 68 moves vertically between predetermined limits Whereas the aXis of the take-up roll 58 is postioned above the uppermost limit of movement of the take-up roll 68 and is horizontally displaced therefrom. The guide roll 73 has its aXis positioned below the lowermost position of the guide roll 68 and horizontally displaced forward of the axes of the upper guide roll 58. The two driven rolls 84 and 86 have their axes lying in substantially the same horizontal plane as the axis of the guide roll 78 but each of the rolls 84 and 86 are respectiveiy displaced horizontally away from the roll '78.

The driven roll 84 is .provided on each of its outer ends with sprockets 96 and 92. The driven roll 86 s provided on one of its outer ends with a sprocket 94 (FIGURES 2 and 4) and an endless chain passing about the sprockets 92 and 94 causes the rolls 84 and 86 to rotate in the same direction. The sprocket on the driven roll 84 has an endless chain 98 passing thereabout and over a sprocket 100 on the drive shaft 102 of a three-phase, 60-cycle, -volt electric motor 104. When the motor 104 is energized, it will now be appreciated that the driven rolls 84 and 86 are driven in the direction of the arrows A of FIGURE 3. Cloth, which is fed under each of the driven rolls 84 and 86 and then 'over the roll 86 and attached to the core 26, will be wound thereon to form the roll R.

It will be noted in FIGURES 2 and 4 that each of the driven rolls 34 and 86 is provided with a helical covering 106 extending from one end to the other end thereof. The helical covering 166 may be made from a suitable synthetic fabric material and provides the necessary frictior to the cloth being fed over the same so that the cloth does not slip on the steel rolls 84 and 86. Also, by extending the covering 196 in a helical path about the periphery of 'the rolls 84- and 86, proper width or filling tension is maintained 'on the cloth as it is being Wound onto the roll R.

A pair of upwardly extending guide members 1%8 and 11@ are provided on the side frames 30 and 32 respectively. Each of the guide members 108 and 118 includes spaced vertical bars 112 which are adapted to receive the ends of the core 26 should the roll start to track one way or the other. In any event, they prevent the roll R from moving transversely 'of the apparatus as the cloth is being wound thereon.

Referring now to FIGURES 3, 5 and 6, it will be noted that an upper-limit switch 114, which is normally closed, is provided within the guide track and is adapted to be engaged and opened by the end of the take-up roller 68. A normally open lower-limit switch 116 is also provided in the guide track and it is adapted to be closed by engage ment of the end of the take-up roll 68. The limit switches 114 and 116 which may be of the microswitch type, determine the upper and lower limits of movement of the roll 68 and also control the operation of the electri motor 104.

The simplified wiring diagram of FIGURE 6 illustrates how the apparatus automatically operates to wind the roll R on the core 26. The motor 184 which may be of 'the three-phase, 60-cycle, l15-volt type, receives its electric power from; a source of power 118. The

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motor Operating switch 120 is controlled by a relay 122 in a circuit 124 of the limit switches 314 and 116. In more detail, the circuit 12@ having a source of electric power 123 is provided with the switches Me and 114- in series, the switch 116 being normally open and the switch 114 being normally closed. A holding circuit having a relay 134 therein is energized when the switch ne is momentarily closed by the end of the take-up roll engaging the same as its lowest position of travel. this occurs, current is supplied through the holding circuit to the relay 12.2 to close the motor switch 12@ and start the motor. When the motor is started, the driven rollers 82 and 84 rotate in the direction of the arrows A and will take up the cloth C at a faster rate than the cloth is being delivered from the loom.. Since the take-up roll 68 must move vertically, it will start to move up in its guide tracks sa and 62 with the rack and pinion arrangement 70 and 72 maintaining it horizontal. As soon as it reaches its uppermost level, it opens the upper limit switch 114 which momentarily breaks the circuit to the relay 132; to thereby break the holding circuit, .When this is done, the switch 12@ of the motor is opened and the motor stops. l-iowever, cloth C is still being fed through the slot 24 from the loom 16 and thus the takeup roll 68 maintains the proper tension on the cloth as i'; begins, under its own weight, to move downwardly within the guide tracks 60 and 62. As soon as it hits the lowermost position and closes the normally open switch nd, the circuit of operation is repeated and the motor is again started to drive the driven rolls.

Should the loom 16 stop at any time, the take-up apparatus 19, regardless of whether its motor 164 is operating or is de-energized, will continue to take up cloth until it has reached a point Where it is automatically stopped and the cloth web is maintained under its normal tension. In more detail and for example, should the loop stop when the motor is energized, the roll of cloth R will still be wcund until the take-up roll 68 reaches the uppermost position. It then stops the motor as the switch 114 is opened, and since no more cloth is being fed through the slot 24-, the take-up roll 68 will remain in the uppermost position. Should the loom t stop at any time during the downward movement of the take-up roll, the take-up roll will immediately stop at this position as the motor is not running and as no more cloth is being fed downwardly to the take-up roll.

it will be noted by referring to FGURE l, the cloth C which drops down through the slot 24 passes under the vertically movable take-up roll 68 and then upwardly over the freely rotatable guide roll 58 and downwardly under the reely rotatable guide roll '78. It then passes under both of the driven rollers 84- and 36 and from there, upwardly around the driven roller 36 onto the core 26. As the size of the roll R becomes greater, the weight of the cloth roll on the rollers 84 and 86 insures sufiicient friction to provide a winding action. When the cloth roll is just beginning, the helical covering 166 provides the necessary friction and, of course, less friction is needed since the weight of the cloth roll R is less.

While the apparatus described above fully accomplishes the objects and advantages of the present invention, it is,

As soon as of course, within the scope of the present invention that certain changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit 'of the invention. The apparatus has been disciosed in connection with a loom, however, it will be appreciated that it could be used with any teXtile apparatus wherein it is desirable to roll the cloth in open widths upon completion of the particular treatment of the same.

The terminology of this invention used in this specication is for the purpose of description and not limitation, the scope of -the invention being defined in the claim.

What is claimed is:

In an apparatus for winding textile fabric in an open width 'onto a core from a source of supply feeding the textile fabric at a normally constant speed:

a frame structure, said frame structure having a pair of horizontally-spaced vertical, upwardly-extending standards thereon;

a take-up roll;

guide means on said standards for receiving the ends of said take-up roll and guiding the same when said take-up roll moves vertically between upper and lower predetermined limits;

a freely rotatable guide roll' carried by said standards above said vertically movable take up roll;

a second freely rotatable roll carried by said frame structure beneath said first guide roll;

a pair of driven rolls carried by said frame structure and having parallel axes and displaced horizonta lly from said second guide roll;

electric motor means to drive the driven rolls wherein fabric is wound on the core at a faster speed than the speed at which the fabric is delivered from the source;

and means to selectively operate said electric motor means while the textile fabric is passing downwardly from the source beneath said take-up roll, upwardly over said first guide roll and downwardly under said second guide roll and onto said core, where said last-mentioned means includes a first switch means actuated by said take-up roil at its lowermost position for starting said electric motor and a second switch means actuated by said take-up roll for stopping said electric motor when said take-up roll is ing its uppermost position, whereby tension is normally maintained on said textile fabric while it is being fed from a source and said core is automatically stopped when the feeding of the textile fabric is interrupted. 1

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,243,795 5/41 Eaddy 242-755 X 2,603,428 7/52 Newc'ombe 242-45 2,648,504 8/ 53 Ertner 242-753 2,717,037 9/55 Goodwillie 242-66 X 2,804,275 8/ 57 Saco et al 242-753 3,066,883 12/62 Egan 242-66 X MERVIN STEIN, Pr'mary Exam'ner. 

